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17 May 2007
Issue: 7273 / Categories: Legal News , Damages
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Legal bid to bring back compensation scheme for miscarriages of justice

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Solicitors are mounting a legal challenge in the High Court against the Home Office decision to abolish a discretionary compensation scheme for victims of miscarriages of justice.

Seven firms—Bhatt Murphy, Bindman & Partners, Bird Solicitors, Fisher Meredith, Hickman & Rose, Hodge Jones & Allen and Stephensons—plus three individual claimants, mounted a judicial review last week, arguing the government acted “unfairly and unlawfully” when it abruptly ended the scheme last April. Judgment has been reserved.

Charles Clarke, the then Home Secretary, said the scheme was “confusing and anomalous”, predated international agreements and standards, cost an annual average of £2m to run and only benefited five to 10 people each year, when he announced its abolition.

A separate statutory scheme set up under the Criminal Justice Act 1988 to comply with the UK’s international law obligations still exists. Compensation is capped at £500,000.

Hickman & Rose partner, Jane Hickman, says: “The schemes cover different kinds of cases.

“The statutory scheme only covers people who are cleared when new evidence comes

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